Scrip cover



D. E. GRAHAM May 9,) 1939.

SCRIP COVER Filed Aug. 9, 1937 IIVVENTOR. Duncan Earl Graham IIIIIIIIIIiII-IIIIII. m .immmfiuiiiui Patented May 9, 1939 UNITED STATES SCRIP COVER Duncan Earl Graham, Denver, 0010. Application August 9, 1937, Serial No. 158,102

3 Claims.

This invention relates to scrip covers or holders of a type employed to mount and facilitate the use of scrip in strip form, such as is commonly circulated for convenience in the purchase of gasoline, transportation, and other conveniences and commodities, and has as an object to provide an improved form, arrangement, and construction of a scrip cover or scrip holder particularly adapted to facilitate the use and exchange of the scrip associated therewith.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved scrip cover or scrip holder arranged for cooperation with scrip in continuous strip form to facilitate the accurate exchange of an amount of scrip corresponding to the value of a given purchase.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved scrip cover or scrip holder arranged to facilitate the rapid and accurate determination of the amount of scrip corresponding exactly with the value of a given purchase.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved scrip cover or scrip holder arranged to conveniently mount scrip in strip form for ready accessibility, and to protect said scrip against damage deriving from the usual handling and manipulation to which the combination is subjected in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved scrip cover or scrip holder arranged to continuously and conspicuously indicate the total value of the scrip remaining therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved scrip cover or scrip holder which is susceptible of convenient and inexpensive manufacture; which is readily adaptable for advan- I tageous cooperation with scrip strips of various specific forms, sizes, and arrangements; and which, .in use, obviates the objectionable features of scrip covers as now commonly employed.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in operative association with a typical scrip strip and as opened to position for the extraction of a portion of said scrip. Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modified construction of the invention, a portion of the assembly being broken away to conserve space. Figure 3 is a plan view of the improved cover or holder shown in Figure 1 prior to its folded assembly with the scrip strip. Fig- PATENT OFFECE ure 4 is a fragmentary view of the construction shown in Figure 2, prior to its association with the scrip strip.

In the construction of the improvement as shown, the scrip cover or holder is illustrated as comprising a rectangular back cover ll], of suitable, relatively stifi material, such as paper-board, fiber, composition, or the like, a front cover ll corresponding in size with the cover l0 and preferably formed as an integral, longitudinal extension from and in hinged relation with one end of the cover l0, and a flap l2 of substantially the same size as the cover ll formed integrally on and as a hin ed lateral extension from one long margin of said cover I l. to fold along its junction with the front cover II and overlie said front cover with its free long margin in alignment with the corresponding margin of said front cover, and said aligned margins of the flap l2 and cover H are then interconnected in any suitable manner to form an openended envelope wherein a strip of thin material may be received to slide between and longitudinally of the elements H and I2. While the flap i2 is shown in Figures 3 and 4 as extending laterally from the right-hand margin of the cover II, it is to be understood that said flap might just as well extend from and be hinged to the opposite side of said cover, without in any way effecting its operative relationship with the latter. In Figures 1 and 2, the aligned, normally free, long margins of the elements H and I2 are shown as secured in the desired relationship by means of a strip l3 folded thereover and permanently pasted or glued along the adjacent exterior surfaces of said elements, as is common practice in the manufacture of paper boxes, envelopes, and the like, but said strip I3 is representative of any convenient and suitable means for interconnecting the aligned margins of the elements I I and I2, and might typify a narrow flap extension on the free long margin of either element positioned to fold over and be secured against the corresponding margin of the other element. Further, while the elements II II and [2 have been illustrated and described as relatively hinged sections of an integral body or blank, it is to be understood that said elements could as well be separate units of difiering materials suitably and hingedly interconnected to form an assembly equivalent in every essential respect with that shown and hereabove described.

Scrip as commonly supplied in book units of varying value for use in the purchase of gasoline, transportation, and the like, is usually in the The flap [2 is arranged form of a relatively long, narrow, strip of paper ruled with transverse, uniformly-spaced lines denoting uniform units of value, said strips commonly being perforated or weakened along each or some of said transverse lines to facilitate detachment of the values or value units from the body of the strip. The scrip strips are variously printed and arranged to identify the issuer, the commodities or services for which the scrip is exchangable and to designate the value of any unit or section of the strip, but most of said strips have a common characteristic in that they bear a series of progressively and uniformly increasing value indications along one long margin, and a like series of progressively and uniformly decreasing value indications along the other long margin, one such value indication appearing adjacent each side of each unit of said strip, so that the amount of scrip expended from the original strip as well as the amount of unexpended scrip still available is at all times readable without compu tation by inspection of that end of the strip from which detachments have been made. The improved scrip cover or holder is adapted for use with the conventional scrip strip, such a strip being shown in operative association with the cover or holder in Figure 1 and designated generally by the numeral I4. The strip is folded upon itself longitudinally to form a packet of superposed plies of a size substantially corresponding with that of the back cover I ll, against which cover said packet is mounted and retained in place by means of an elastic band, or equivalent retainer I5, the end of said strip adjacent the fold between the covers IE! and II being inserted between the elements II and I2 and passed longitudinally therealong for projection at times beyond the end of the envelope remote from the cover It]. With this arrangement, the cover II carrying its related flap I2 may be folded down over the cover Ill and the packet of scrip carried by the latter to cover and protect said scrip, and maybe readily opened relative to the scrip packet to permit withdrawal of the strip outwardly past its free end when it is desired to employ the scrip in the making of purchases, the folds of the scrip packet feeding smoothly and evenly under the retainer I5 as the strip is drawn upwardly through the space between the elements II and I2. To facilitate withdrawals of the scrip the free end of the cover H is preferably provided with a notch I6 arranged to accommodate a finger of a scrip user.

The scrip strip I4 illustrated in the drawing is shown as ruled transversely for division into uniform units of uniform value, every fifth ruling line being of greater weight or otherwise distinguished, as by means of difference in color, from the remaining lines, thereby blocking the strip into convenient groups of five units each. The strip illustrated is shown as marked along its right-hand margin with an ascending series of value indications designating a value of five cents for each of the scrip units, and with a like but descending series of, value indications along its left-hand margin, which arrangement is quite typical of conventional scrip. The essential novelty of the instant invention resides in the provision of a plurality of identical windows or openings I'I aligned in uniformly-spaced relation along one margin of and opening through the flap I2 in position to expose the value indications appearing in the ascending series along that portion of the strip housed be tween the elements II and I2, one such window being provided for each of the scrip units, and in the permanent designation on the face of the element I2 of the relative value of each scrip unit exposed through a given window, as measured from the free end of the envelope formed by said elements II and I2. In the arrangement shown in the drawing, the flap I2 has a length sufiicient to accommodate twenty-three of the Windows I'I, those corresponding to twenty-three units of the scrip strip having a total value of one dollar and fifteen cents when the units have a value of five cents each. The window I! adjacent the free end of the combined cover II and flap I2 will hence expose the first scrip unit next available for detachment and will consequently be marked on the exposed face of the flap I2 with its value of five cents, irrespective of the value indication appearing and readable through said window, the value designations for the remaining windows increasing uniformly and progressively in unit values of five cents each as said windows are progressively remote from the free or scrip-detaching end of the envelope, the last window in the embodiment shown thus having an indicated value of one dollar and fifteen cents, which is read to indicate that the value of the scrip strip from the line of last detachment to the value shown through said most remote window has a purchase power of one dollar and fifteen cents The advantage of the window arrangement and associated value indications just above described is found in the ease with which an accurate determination of the amount of scrip representing an amount of a given purchase may be made through their use. Considering the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1, and assuming that a purchase of eighty-five cents has been made and scrip in like amount is to be detached in payment therefor, the vendor need only glance at the exposed face of the flap I2, locate the indication eightyfive representing the amount of purchase, note the value indication on the scrip strip exposed through the window adjacent the indication eighty-five, in this instance two dollars and five cents, withdraw the scrip strip from the envelope until the indication two dollars and five cents clears the end of the envelope, and then tear off the projecting scrip with the assurance that he has detached eighty-five cents worth of. the scrip, thus eliminating all necessity for mental or other computations and eliminating the probability of error inherent in such computations made in haste. When purchases of a value exceeding the designations on the flap I2 are made, it is a simple matter to repetitiously withdraw the strip in convenient units, such as dollars, and make a final withdrawal corresponding to the fractional portion of a dollar represented in the purchase, and then detach the accumulated withdrawn portion of the strip. As will be readily apparent, the window I I adjacent the free end of the envelope may bear a zero value indication while the succeeding windows are identified by progressively increasing value indications, in which event the strip unit designation corresponding to the value of the purchase will be moved to registration with the first or zero window and the projecting portion of the scrip strip will then correspond with the value of the purchase checked against the value indications appearing on the flap I2.

With the arrangement shown and thus far described, the value indication adjacent the free end of the strip in the left-hand or descending series of value indications represents the total value of scrip still remaining in the unusual portion of the strip [4, hence it is convenient and desirable toprovide a window or opening I 8 in the left-hand corner of. the flap l2 adjacent the free end of the envelope and in position to expose the value indication representing the remaining value of the scrip, said window preferably being suitably marked, as by means of an arrow 19, or other identifying characteristic, for convenient visual location and identification.

To facilitate tearing away of the projecting portions of the scrip strip, a reinforcing strip of relatively stiff material is preferably fixed to and disposed transversely across the inner surface of the flap l2 adjacent and in marginal alignment with the outer end of said flap, thus furnishing a straight, stiff edge along which the scrip may conveniently be divided. The reinforcing strip 20 preferably covers the window Ill and the outer of the windows if and hence must be provided with suitable apertures registering with said windows when said strip 20 is of nontransparent material, but it is convenient and desirable to form said strip 29 from transparent material, in which event it need not be apertured and will advantageously serve as a reinforcing backing for said apertures and as a protection for that portion of the scrip strip underlying said windows. As a further protection for the scrip strip and as a further reinforcement for the apertured portion of the fiap l2, the strip 20 may be formed with an extension 26" positioned to underlie and cover the entire series of windows l1, it being understood that this arrangement necessitates forming of the strip 20 and extension 20 from transparent material.

The modified construction illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 is in all essential respects identical with that shown in Figures 1 and 3 and hereabove described, the only difference being that in the modified construction the series of separate windows l1 takes the form of an elongated, longitudinally-disposed slot or opening 2| positioned to expose the value indications on the scrip strip in the same manner as would the windows H, which slot 2| is backed by a reinforcing member 22 of transparent material whereon divisions corresponding in width with the scrip units are suitably ruled, scribed, or otherwise delineated. The opening 2| may, of course, extend from end to end of the flap l2, in which event the backing element 22 will serve to interconnect the spaced portions of said flap, or said opening may be arrested just short of the flap ends, in the manner illustrated. Obviously, the scrip strip M may be operatively associated with the modified construction in exactly the same manner as described for its cooperation with the windowed form or embodiment of the invention.

The size, shape, relative position, arrangement, and corresponding value designations of the windows I! and IE, or of the opening 2|, may be varied for the desired cooperation with scrip strips of various forms and arrangements, without in any way departing from the spirit of the invention, hence I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention 1. A scrip strip cover comprising a cover element adapted to mount and support a scrip strip in folded packet form, a second cover element hinged at one end to and in longitudinal alignment with said first cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith, a flap hinged to and projecting laterally from a side margin of said second cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith to provide a slide bearing for an extended portion of a scrip strip, a plurality of windows uniformly spaced in longitudinal alignment along said flap in position to register with and expose value indications of a scrip strip portion received thereunder, and a series of value indications on the exposed surface of said flap associated in uniformly and progressively increasing relation with said windows.

2. A scrip strip cover comprising a cover element adapted to mount and support a scrip strip in folded packet form, a second cover element hinged at one end to and in longitudinal alignment with said first cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith, a flap hinged to and projecting laterally from a side margin of said second cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith, means interconnecting the aligned otherwise free margins of said flap and second cover element to form an open-ended envelope in longitudinal alignment with said first cover element, a plurality of windows uniformly spaced in longitudinal alignment along said flap in position to register with and expose value indications of a scrip strip portion received thereunder, and a series of value indications on the exposed surface of said flap associated in uniformly and progressively increasing relation with said windows.

3. A scrip strip cover comprising a first cover element arranged to mount and support a scrip strip in folded packet form, a second cover element hinged at one end to and in longitudinal alignment with said first cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith, a flap hinged to and projecting laterally from a side margin of said second cover element and foldable into superposed registration therewith to form a slide bearing for an extended portion of the scrip strip, means interconnecting the aligned otherwise free margins of said flap and hingedly-related cover element, a relatively long window opening disposed longitudinally of said flap in position to expose the value indications of the scrip units received thereunder, a transparent backing for said window opening, transverse markings on said transparent backing uniformly dividing the latter into sections representing scrip strip units, and a series of value indications on said flap in uniformly and progressively increasing relation with said sections.

DUNCAN EARL GRAHAM. 

